


Here With You and Me

by Estelathan



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Introspective Dean, Missing Scene, Season/Series 02 Spoilers, Tired Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-27 06:27:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6273388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estelathan/pseuds/Estelathan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his close call with the djinn Dean finds himself unable to sleep and ponders over what happened in the dream world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here With You and Me

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is meant to fit in between the end of Season 2's episode 20 "What Is and What Should Be" and episode 21 "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 1"
> 
> Comments are appreciated!

"C'mon man, just drop it already." Dean groaned as he pushed his way into their motel room with a tired sigh. "For the millionth time I said I'm fine. I just want to sleep; I'm beat." He punctuated his words with a semi-fake yawn that made his jaw crack loudly in a way that he knew got on Sam's nerves. Truthfully Dean wasn't all that tired, who could blame him after being kidnapped and forced into a drug-induced bizarro world, but Sam on the other hand was whipped. Even ignoring the near-constant yawning his younger brother had been doing for the past hour or so Dean knew he had to be pretty freaking exhausted.

 

By Sam's account it hadn't been easy to find Dean in the first place since he'd been a dumbass and had branched off without telling Sam where he was going in the first place, then came the whole rescuing said dumbass, fighting off the stupid djinn, ending with insuring the poor girl that had saved Dean had gotten the proper medical care. Taken together it'd be enough to wipe anyone out; hell, if Dean hadn't been riding some crazy post-adrenaline/fear high that was making sleep totally unappealing at the moment he'd probably be just as damned tired. But he wasn't and here they were-- he was wide awake and Sam was practically asleep on his feet, and too damn stubborn to actually admit it, which equaled out to Dean pretending to be just as tired just so Sam would give in and get some rest.

 

"Are you sure Dean?" Sam doesn't sound convinced at all, not that Dean was actually expecting him to, fighting off yet another yawn as he follows Dean into the room. "You don't know what that poison could have done to you. There could be side-effects we don---"

 

"Enough Sam!" Dean snaps cutting him off mid-rant, frustration spiking out of worry as he turns around to regard his sleepy brother. "Look," he starts, his voice lowering. "It's been hours. If there were gonna be side effects we would have seen them by now and I feel fine." He spreads his arms out and does a weird little shuffling jig as he turns around to get the point across. "See! I'm fine."

 

For a moment Sam just stands there and full on gapes wordlessly as he wavers somewhere between wanting to slap his brother or hug the big idiot. Finally he just shakes his head because he can't believe Dean sometimes. The guy had been nearly dying not more than a handful of hours ago and here he was acting like he was perfectly fine. While it's nothing new it _is_ inspiring a headache and when it reaches this point Sam's learned it's just better to give in and go with it. "Fine.." He concedes grumpily and pushes past his brother on his way to the bathroom. If Dean wants to act like everything is sunshine and rainbows then Sam's not gonna stop him, at least tonight.

 

Victory! Dean can't help but chuckle to himself as the bathroom door slams closed because for the moment he's won and they both know it. He's sure Sam will bitch about it in the morning but at least by then the kid will, hopefully, have rested up and won't be so damned tired that he's weaving on his feet. If not, well he'll figure out something then. Until then Dean continues to snicker as he gets ready for bed.

 

True to prediction, by the time Dean's coming back from his own turn in the bathroom Sam's already fast asleep in his bed which Dean can't help but regard with a fond shake of his head. _Ah, Sammy..._ he thinks as he stands there for a moment simply watching his brother sleep. Normally at this point Dean would think up some kind of crazy ass thing to do with his little brother’s belongings, that’s what older brothers are for after all, but the kid looks so damn peaceful at the moment Dean can’t bring himself to do it. Huh, maybe he’s getting softer in his old age. _As if!_ He snorts softly to himself and goes to flop on his own bed, reclining back against the headboard with his hands folded behind his head.

 

By the time Sam’s deeply asleep, as evidenced by how his soft snores have turned into a noise that sounds like it belongs more on the wood-chipper spectrum than actual human, Dean’s lost inside his mind-- caught somewhere between the reality of a quiet hotel room and a snoring brother and the still-vivid dream of an apple pie life he’d never lived. While the fine details were starting to fade away like a normal run-of-the-mill nightmare Dean found he couldn’t help but reply the bulk of it through his mind over and over again like a worn-out movie.

 

Their mother had been alive and by damn there weren’t enough words in the world to signify what that had meant to Dean to see Mary alive and well. Ever since the day she died there hadn’t been one that passed that Dean didn’t wish she were still alive, and more than anything else (smoking hot girlfriend included) she had been the biggest reason he would have happily stayed in the dream-world forever. It was something he could never, _would never_ , admit out loud but within the dream Dean had found himself fervently hoping that it was all true: that his mother was alive and his and Sammy’s days of hunting were nothing more than an elaborate fever-dream he had concocted. Now that he was awake and aware Dean wasn’t sure which realization hurt more, finding out that it had all been a dream or realizing that he hadn’t wanted it to be. It’s something he still can’t answer all these hours later as he lets out a shaky breath, all he knows is that either way, it hurts.

 

On the reverse side of the coin, whereas seeing their mother had strengthened Dean's reserve to stay, seeing alter-Sam had completely broken it. Don't get him wrong, he'd been thrilled to see Jess was still alive, he really had because more than anything Sammy deserved to be happy as well, but finding out that he and Sam weren't close had been unacceptable. After spending all these months with his brother, just the two of them out on the road together hunting evil, well there just was no accepting anything else, simple as that. The realization hadn't surprised Dean, it was something he'd been mulling over for a while now but hadn't been ready to admit yet but there you had it: Apple pie life or no, Dean wasn't Dean without Sam's constant presence in his life, no other way about it. Still, he can't help but feel that there's a tiny part of him that's terrified because if the dream had been different, had Sam been the same pain in the ass he normally is, Dean's sure he would have clung to the dream world until the djinn's poison killed him.

 

Thankfully he's pulled from his introspective from a particular loud sound from his brother's direction that has Dean whipping his head around to gauge for danger even as his fingers twitch under his pillow for his gun. There's nothing there except for Sam - who makes the noise again, something that's a terrible cross between a snore and a snort - and Dean relaxes slightly. "Dude, that's gross..." He sighs in Sam's direction with a roll of his eyes. Leave it to his little brother to scare the ever-living hell out of him while sleeping. It's so absurd Dean would laugh if he didn't think he'd wake up Sam in the process because the kid clearly needs the rest. Though how he's actually getting any sleep with all the noise he's currently making (and Dean wishes Sam could hear this racket because he’s sure the kid will deny it in the morning) is beyond him.

 

Since there’s no danger to be found, at least none that doesn’t have to do with going deaf from the racket Sam’s making, Dean relaxes and shifts back down into his bed. It’s funny how life works out sometimes. Not that long ago Dean had been out on his own away from his dad and it had been good, freeing. Back then he’d never expected he’d end up going clear to Stanford after his brother, had never dreamed that they would actually end up hunting together again after the way Sam had walked out on him all those years ago but look at them now. Yeah, he’d went after his brother because dad had went missing and Dean had been panicking but still, Sam could have walked away. After everything that had went down Dean couldn’t have blamed Sam if he’d told him to go screw himself. He wouldn’t have liked it, not one bit, but he still wouldn’t have blamed him.

 

Yet, for whatever reason, for better and worse, Sam had stayed. Even after Jess and their dad dying and the rest of the other shit that had come their way Sam had stayed. He didn’t have to, and hell Dean was fully convinced most of the time his little brother didn’t _want_ to with all his talk of going back to school yet Sam hadn’t made a move to go yet. That was the clincher right there, the thing that Dean hung onto more than anything else: Sam stayed and as long as he did Dean was going to be right there with him. The world could go to hell in a handbasket but as long as they had each other’s backs everything would somehow be okay because without Sam there was no Dean and well, Dean liked to think that perhaps their mother could forgive him that bit of selfishness.

 

Dean yawns and rolls over, finally feeling exhaustion creep up over his limbs. It had been a close call today with the djinn but he was fine, even the girl they saved was going to be fine, and for that Dean was going to count it as a win. Tomorrow was another day and come what may he’s now certain he can face it as long as his brother’s by his side. With that in mind Dean closes his eyes and lets himself drift away.


End file.
